Friday, 30 May 2014

Financial Blog Corliss Group: 3 Financial Tips for Engaged Couples

Planning a wedding comes with excitement
-- not to mention arguments and compromise. Many couples spend a lot of time
securing the right caterer, venue, and honeymoon location. But merging two
people's finances is no small feat, either, and it's even more important to
plan how they will handle money together after the honeymoon is over.

By implementing these three financial
tips, you'll keep the marital arguments to a minimum and the newlywed bliss
alive and well.

1.
Honestly discuss your financial pasts

The goal of this discussion is to
truthfully disclose everything. Tell your significant other about your income,
assets, and all of your debts. This is the time to air your financial secrets;
it shouldn't be a lecture about whose money management methods are better.

Use these conversations to listen
without judgment and learn more about your spouse-to-be. No decisions have to
be made about how to handle any of these issues. First, it's most important to
disclose your past, understand your partner's, and open up the lines of
communication.

It's likely that one person is a
spender, the other a saver. These "permitter" and
"restrictor" archetypes will appear hundreds, maybe thousands, of
times over the course of your marriage. But for a much more harmonious union,
both partners will have to compromise when it comes to money matters. Through
that compromise you'll be able to develop a game plan for how much to save, how
much to spend, and how much to contribute toward goals like traveling, buying a
home, and securing your retirements.

3.
Craft your road map

Talk about your financial goals. Discuss
how you'll construct, manage, and monitor your household budget. Determine
whether you want to commingle your assets and incomes or keep them separate.
Many couples choose to keep individual accounts and create one joint account
for shared household expenses like rent, utilities, and groceries. Other
couples commingle all of their income and have separate "fun money"
accounts where they receive a certain monthly "allowance" -- say,
$100 per month, to save or spend however they'd like.

Consider a prenuptial agreement,
especially if one partner comes to the marriage with significant assets or
debts. Even though this can be an awkward discussion to have with your
betrothed, a mutually agreed-upon plan will quash any misunderstandings or
nasty situations later on. Draft the agreement, sign it, put it away, and hope
you never need to use it.

Congratulations
are in order

Having these conversations before you
walk down the aisle will make life much easier once you're married. So carve
out the time to focus on your finances now. It certainly isn't as exciting as
planning your honeymoon, but your marriage will be much better off for it.

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